BUSINESS AVIATION
Agusta
displays
A109A
widebody
FAIROAKS
The prototype Agusta 109A
Mk II widebody helicopter
attracted interest from oper
ators seeking greater space
and cabin comfort in the mid-
range corporate helicopter
when it appeared at the Paris
Show.
Agusta's marketing team
arrived in the UK recently,
having flown direct from
Paris to begin a series of
customer demonstration
flights in the London area.
The aircraft was flown by
Agusta test pilot Bruno Bell-
uci, accompanied by Analdo
Ratto, European marketing
director for the company.
Flight was invited to sample
the aircraft on a short flight
from Fairoaks to Battersea
Heliport in central London.
The aircraft seats four
passengers in comfort, and
the new side panels and
convex windows allow consid
erably more elbow room than
does the standard 109 Mk II.
Vision from the cabin is excel
lent, and the new side window
shape allows an improved
downward view for
passengers.
The cabin is fitted with a
refreshment unit fitted in the
arm of one rearward-facing
seat in the "club four" execu
tive layout. A hand set inter
com for crew/passenger
communication is also fitted,
and a number of different
layouts are offered.
The UK Civil Aviation
Authority has been extremely
helpful in certificating the
original 109A, says the manu
facturer, and the aircraft
received UK public-transport
certification before initial
delivery. The widebody
version has so far received
only Italian and FAA certifi
cation, with UK certification
expected at the end of this
year, says Gary Savage, sales
manager of Alan Mann
Helicopters, the UK distrib
utor which is showing the
helicopter to several UK
companies.
The 109A Mk II widebody
is priced at $1-25 million,
The new Agusta 109A Mk II widebody helicopter recently visited UK distributor Alan Mann Helicopters. The
aircraft has flown an intensive sales demonstration programme
$50,000 more than the stan
dard model.
All current standard Mk II
aircraft can be modified to
widebody specification, and
all future Mk lis will be built
to the new design. Price for
retrofitting ranges from
$50,000-$75,000, depending
on exact layout. The new
shape has no effect on speed
and adds only 81b to the origi
nal empty weight, says
Agusta.
There are 11 109As in the
UK, and 60 have been sold in
the USA. Engine TBO is
3,500hr and airframe overhaul
occurs at 18,000hr, an
increase of 600hr since last
year. Alan Mann Helicopters
is confident that this will
increase to 2,400hr "on
condition" in the near future.
BAH buys
Rotortuner
ABERDEEN
British Airways Helicopters is
the latest helicopter operator
to buy Helitune's Rotortuner.
The equipment will be used on
BAH machines flying from
Aberdeen in support of North
Sea oilfield operations.
BAH says that Rotortuner
will reduce the non-revenue
flying needed to track and
balance its rotor blades.
Equipment manufacturer
Helitune claims that it is the
first system of its kind: "It
quickly, consistently, and
accurately shows in flight all
the track and balance faults
and vibration-signature char
acteristics of a helicopter."
Phillicopter—a flying
jeep from Australia
KOTARA HEIGHTS
Production of Australia's first
indigenous helicopter design
is planned to begin in August
against initial orders for half a
dozen aircraft. First flight of a
production machine should
follow in September.
The Vtol Aircraft
Phillicopter is designed to
compete at the bottom end of
the helicopter market with
machines such as the
Robinson R22.
Costing US $65,000, the
two-seat piston-engined
Phillicopter is aimed particu
larly at Australian and New
Zealand sheep and deer farm
ers. The requirement is for a
simple, robust, easy-to-
maintain and cheap-to-
operate helicopter with
reasonable payload, says
designer Duan Phillips.
The helicopter has been
designed to US FAR 27 rules
in close co-operation with the
Australian Department of
Aviation. Certification is
close, says Phillips, and
should be achieved before the
end of this year.
A prototype has been flying
for seven years, but Phillips, a
water company engineer, had
until recently been working
only part time on the project.
As the Department of
Aviation had no helicopter
certification experience,
Phillips has been instrumen
tal in drawing up regulations
modelled on FAR 27.
The Phillicopter has a two-
blade, stiff-hinge teetering
rotor whose steel hub is
attached to a static mast via a
constrained elastomeric
universal joint. The airframe,
which is constructed from
aluminium tubing, resembles
a cross between the Bell 47
and a scaled-down Alouette.
The blades are metal, with an
extruded leading-edge spar
and a 2,000hr design life.
Most materials and com
ponents, including the rotor
hub and fuselage tubing, have
been produced locally.
The prototype is powered
by a 145 h.p. Continental
piston engine, but production
aircraft will have a 160 h.p.
Lycoming. Both powerplants
are certificated to run on
mogas, says Phillips. Normal
endurance is 2-5hr at 90kt,
but additional tanks can be
fitted to extend this to 4-5hr.
Alternatively, chemical tanks
can be carried for spraying
operations.
According to Phillips, the
most important parameter
to potential customers is
operating cost. He puts
Phillicopter running costs at
$65 an hour, and says that any
reputable aircraft distributor
(fixed- or rotary-wing) would
be able to maintain and over
haul his helicopter.
Phillips is now working full
time on his project, having
secured venture funding to
start production from a young
Australian entrepreneur.
14 FLIGHT International, 22 June 1985